Crash bang wallop

The Safari had a short ten minutes on Patch 2 this morning. A few Gannets, Common Scoters and Sandwich Terns were going through at varying distances.

For the first time in a long time it actually felt cold standing there in the wind – which being southerly should have been warmer.

Seawatching stalwart MJ was stood a few hundred yards away but we didn’t get a chance to go and chat to him so will find out what we missed later...please, please, please not another Sabine’s Gull.

Half way through the morning there was a right royal commotion from the gulls outside that had ‘raptor’ written all over it! Like a flash we jumped from our desk and dashed outside; everything was in the air, the Starlings were bunched up tight, feral Pigeons wheeled round unsure whether to land or not and the gulls circled still calling loudly but we saw nothing that might have been the cause of the disturbance.

Lunchtime came round and we popped overt he road again. It was much warmer now but along the horizon loomed a huge sinister looking, brooding dark blue-grey mass of cloud.

It didn’t look good out there but the sunshine picked out a distant flock of terns dancing for fish in front of it. After several attempts at counting we got at least 79 terns, a dozen or so Gannets and three darker spots were, from their jizz, skuas. Small parties of Common Scoters ‘fled’ from its path, mostly southwards. None of ‘our regular’ dolphins could be seen although at that range it is possible they were around but unseeable. Best of all was the flash of lightning, not often you get one of those in the scope’s field of view...a taste of things to come!

The wind was south south-easterly but the cloud drew ever closer from the west as the wind changed and once over the beach we could see its ominous form – it looked a real devil...better get some pics then!

 We went out to the front and then the back. 

Whilst stood at the back door a friend turned up to show us the truly awesome picture with his phone from the other side of the road, looks like we’d come in a few minutes too soon. As we were chatting a flash of lightning struck very close by, no time to count 1000, 2000...before the thunder crackled then boomed.

A few more flickers were more distant as the storm rolled inland where it looked like they were getting a pasting. We just got a short heavy shower. Then the sun came out and it was summer at last!

After the sun had been out for an hour or so walking down the corridor we noted a Small Tortoiseshell and a Small White nectaring on the Ragwort on the other side of the window. By the time we’d done what we had to do and gone back to the office to get the camera they’d both gone but the large numbers of hoverflies entertained us for a few minutes. A very quick and probably highly inaccurate count revealed at least 110 individuals of a variety of species including bees and one very small unusual looking hymenopteran – no pots in the pocket today :-( . 

A comparison count on the ‘tidy’ side towards the car-park gave us only 19 insects, almost all of those on a large Yarrow we planted as a small wildflower plug a couple of years ago that has somehow survived the ravages of the ‘tidy brigade’. Beneath it and just coming in to flower is a small patch of Sea Holly which again should be much larger but has variously been dug up and sprayed as a weed but has still just about managed to hang on and is doing quite well so far this year - the patch should be huge by now though!

Untidy but buzzin with birds n bees n hovers n butters etc etc - those Formiums will have to go sooner rather than later though

Tidy but more or less lifeless

Yarrow

Sea Holly - 7 years old and this is all there is due to 'weeding' & spraying!

Where to next? Hopefully more good stuff on Patch 2.
In the meantime let us know what's enjoying the nectar in your outback.

More surprises

The Safari managed to get out on a full Patch 1 walk yesterday evening and after a day of surprises at work was granted one more by the Surprise Gods! Nothing appeared anything out of the ordinary as we climbed the hill, rounding the corner Frank’s nemesis Blue and his two hench-dogs weren’t at the gate ready to pounce and the Peregrine wasn’t on the tower, all seemed normal. At the Golden Triangle it was good to see a Song Thrush collecting food for hidden nestlings and an unseen Greenfinch sang loudly. We walked into the park and immediately heard a Blackcap and saw a Speckled Wood, nothing unusual there. We watched the butterfly flit along the track in front of us and once at the more open area of the Butterfly Zone it hung a right over the Bramble patch. Something rather large on the Brambles caught our eye...a huge Tree Bee, very possibly Blackpool’s first record (Anyone know any different?). We watched her for a good few minutes but no flamin camera!!! Gee are they a bonny bee!

A Chiffchaff was also singing on and off. Frank decided he wanted to wander round the rough field so we followed him – he dived straight into the filthy puddle – bad dog! After dragging him out (not quite by his ears!) we thought he best have a mooch through the long grass to dry off a bit...but then he found another puddle, again muddy – he did disturb a couple of Large Skippers and a little further on another couple although it could have been one of the first doubling back and a third.

It became rather humid as the evening wore on and after we’d woken up from the dream that Spain v Portugal was a good match we took Frank out. Several moths were seen, one of which was probably a Brimstone.

(Old pic from the moth trap)

This morning saw us back on Patch 2 where there was some of the most ominous cloud formations we’ve ever seen fortunately drifting northwards away from us, we hoped to get a pic but by the time we’d got back to the office and the camera they’d dissipated. Talking of cameras, one of yesterday’s dunked ones seems to be fine (the more expensive) but the handy little compact isn’t responding to treatment yet.

Three Grey Seals and one of the big lumps of driftwood were seen along with the lone male Common Scoter, a dozen or so of his friends flew south at range followed a few minutes later by another 75 or so. Also at range was a skua sp which disappeared once it dropped below the horizon. Three pairs of unidentified terns made their way southwards as did another surprise, three Mute Swans, a Shelduck also appeared out of the gloom to the north – were they all escaping so rotten weather?

At lunchtime we got the periscope from the cupboard and headed off to the beach. No good! Too dull today due to a thunderstorm brewing out at sea. There were some good flickers of lightning including one massive one bouncing along the base of the clouds for about 10 miles and a couple of others that forked into sea.

We tried to get pics of the Plumose Anemone but now think a bright sunny day is needed along with a dark cowl over our head – we’ll get there in the end!

Another anemone was seen in the same pot, this one bright orange, Elegant Anemone, Sagartia elegans - thanks to  DB for the ID. Easier to get a pic of it from above the water surface even if the shutter speed is still too slow. 

A meander along the beach before the deluge arrived gave us plenty of Sea Potatoes, a few more Hermit Crab-free Edible Whelk shells and two clumps of Squid eggs.

With large drops of rain landing with decided thuds on the beach we thought it best to leave and let the fishermen down on the water’s edge be the target for any more lightning that might be around.

Where to next? A day off tomorrow then the weekend so anything could happen! Who knows- even the moth trap might get an airing!

In the meantime let us know how hot n sultry it was in your outback